Bookended by Cats was named after Milo and Otis. They are the short, orange, and furry brothers who, upon entering our lives in 2003, often bookended us on our couch. And who are we? We're a geek couple living in PA. We love music, movies, TV, comics, books, and comic cons. And, from time to time, we'll share our thoughts on these nerdy things.

Friday, March 20, 2020

[Apocalyptic Dance Party] -- I know. I know. Times are strange right now with COVID-19 sweeping the public consciousness and people ready to sell a kidney for toilet paper (not their own kidney, of course, but I digress). So, why would I bother with posting an 80s Flashback? Actually, the better question is, "Why wouldn't I?" Hence the Apocalyptic Dance Party theme. These songs have, or attempt to have, some combination of (post-)apocalyptic lyrics, fashion, or music video. And this is a longer playlist than usual because I tinkered with it over the course of today. Can you guess which tunes show up today after the jump? And be certain to dance like no one is watching -- and if you stay far enough away from everyone, then no one really can watch you!

Friday, March 13, 2020

[Breathe - Redux] -- OK. seven years ago this week, this very day, I had to drive from Bucks County, PA, to the Cleveland Clinic to see my father. Dad was sent there after he had been admitted to the local ER with difficulty breathing, particularly in pushing out carbon dioxide. After a consult with his doctors in Cleveland, where his bone marrow transplants had been performed, the decision was made to life-flight him to the Clinic and place him in the cardiac ICU. The morning after he was sent to the Clinic, I packed up the car, drove across PA, picked up my mother, and finished a 9+ hour drive by checking into the Inter-Continental Suite Hotel in Cleveland. At the outset of this trip, we had expected Dad to be in the Clinic for several days. Instead, we found that we were to spend the rest of March in Cleveland. After my first week at the Clinic, I settled on "Breathe" as the theme for my Friday 80s Flashback of 3/22/13 . The reason for this theme will become apparent after you read the original intro for that Flashback which is re-posted here in its entirety. And, "Breathe" also seems an appropriate theme for a week in which we've been bombarded with COVID-19 related news and updates, particularly cancelations and postponements of large events. So, if you can spare several minutes, read my post from 2013 and enjoy the three embedded music videos. Well, at least enjoy the videos.

Those of you who follow me on Twitter, or know me in some other way (either virtual or IRL), know that I have been out of town visiting my father in the ICU. He was admitted last Tuesday evening due to shortness of breath. Since admission, he has been shuttled between two different ICU departments (cardiac and medical), undergone a battery of tests, and subjected to intubation -- with that last one occurring twice! The various doctors and experts on staff seem to know what the problem is -- Dad's muscles are too weak to properly ventilate -- but they don't know the "why" of the problem, or how to reverse it ... yet. So, as you can well imagine, breathing has been very much on my mind lately. Unfortunately, the kind of breathing I have in mind isn't exactly enshrined in 80s tunes. But I'll do my best to deal with this week's theme as well as support my family during this medical crisis. If you want to know what made the playlist this week, you can read and hear more after the break.

Friday, March 6, 2020

[This Month is True] -- In March of 1983, Spandau Ballet released their third studio album, True, and nothing was ever the same for them. This was the record that earned them international notoriety, particularly with the one-two punch of the hit title track and "Gold" (both of which I still own on 45!). Often filed under Smooth Jazz as often as they are labeled as pop, New Wave, or synth-pop, Spandau Ballet were an early standard bearer of the New Romantic movement. And True gave the band their first #1 album in the UK as well as a top 20 album on the US Billboard 200. After the title track peaked at #1 in the UK Singles Chart and #4 on the US Billboard Hot 100, their follow-up, "Gold," reached #2 in the UK and cracked the top 30 in the US. But by the time their next album, Parade (1984), rolled around, the US record buying public was no longer enamored by New Romantics. Still, for one shimmering month, Spandau Ballet were international radio juggernauts. And "True" can still evoke fond memories of days when radio and MTV were more than magical.

Monday, March 2, 2020

Without going into too much or spoilery detail, I want to share a pitch-perfect panel from John Constantine: Hellblazer #4. This issue -- part of the new Hellblazer series on DC Comics' imprint, Black Label -- came out last week and it's as close to evoking the spirit of the old Vertigo run as I've seen. But it's also somewhat fresh.

In #4, we find John Constantine enduring some fan-worship, and possibly some unintentional oneupmanship, from a hipster mage named Tommy Willowtree. Throughout the issue, Willowtree is trying to impress upon Constantine that "Evil is at large" and it requires Constantine's touch. Willowtree has a map of locations where he has seen the "dark energies take root." Constantine is familiar with one of the instances, and he tells Willowtree it's been sorted and it can be crossed off the list. Basically the guy asks John how he sorted it and John responds with, well, this:

I've paraphrased to boil down two pages and not give away too much while still being able to share this fantastic panel. Constantine's expression, the way the lighter and cigarette are illuminating part of his face while the rest is not quite obscured by shadow, and the complete nonchalance of the statement. That is all peak John Constantine there, and it is brilliantly delivered by the creative team of Simon Spurrier (script), Matías Bergara (pencils), Jordie Bellaire (colors), and Aditya Bidikar (letters).

They also delivered this nugget, with Constantine declaring that stories can be more real than facts, and it just about blows Willowtree's mind:

I'm gonna have to practice patience "so hard" while waiting for the next issue.